Wildcat Weekly!
Yesterday we held our Fall Festival! What an outstanding event! We thank you all for coming and we especially thank our teachers, staff, and parents who volunteered their time to make the event a success. Students from Toms River North High School were on hand for face painting, our Truck or Treat was awesome, and the weather was perfect! Double S Stables in Jackson, NJ graciously donated hay bales and other materials for our event and Freddy's Steakburgers provided the ice cream. Finally, thank you to our PBSIS Committee!
Next week we will hold our Halloween Parade! The event will be on Thursday, October 30 beginning promptly at 10:25 AM. All car access to the event will be via Chestnut Street and ferry parking lanes will form in the back of the school. Many reminders with information related to the event were sent via ParentSquare. Let's work together to make this a fun, safe, and organized event for our students and staff! Below, please see the community letter in English and Spanish. We are looking forward to seeing you there.
We observed School Violence Awareness Week this week. We reviewed the importance of continuing our commitment to fostering a school environment that recognizes respect for ones self and other, physical and emotional safety, and using communication with adults to express our feelings. Classroom activities this week centered respect, responsibility, and understanding. COMPASS will reinforce these themes as well. On Wednesday, we wore workout gear to promote 'working out' our differences using care, respect, and kind words. These lessons continue throughout the year and permeate our positive behavioral rewards programs. Our winners for the week are pictured below. Thank you for being responsible, respectful, and safe!
Mrs. Gurczeski finished up our Week of Respect anti-bullying lessons this week! Grades 3-5 participated in the interactive bucket filling game. Students worked in their groups to complete task cards that directed them to fill or dip the class bucket, with the goal of filling it to the top. Students were directed to put 1 kindness confetti for kind and respectful actions and to dip it of 2 for anything unkind or disrespectful actions as stated on the task cards. At the conclusion of the lesson, students were able to come up with ways to be bucket fillers in the classroom and community with the challenge to be bucket fillers all year long. Students in K-2 listened to the story “Have You Filled a Bucket” or “Bucket Filling from A to Z”. and helped Mrs. G with a sorting activity to learn about how to fill a bucket at school with our actions and behaviors. K-2 students were able to share ways that they can be Bucket Fillers to their friends and loved ones.
Consider nominating one of our amazing professionals for Teacher of the Year or Educational Professional of the Year! Details are below.
Every Monday, we will be reciting our Kindness Pledge (pictured below) to start our week. In November, we shift our focus to the topic of Gratitude. Student caught being kind this week are below...congratulations to Brady and Alex! Thank you to Freddy's Steakburger's on Route 37!
Speaking of kindness...we received an amazing donation from St. Justin's Church of knitted hats to our Kindergarten classrooms. Mrs. O'Donnell's class is pictured above sporting these amazing gifts. Thank you Reverend Mark Kreder and St. Justin's!
Our Hurricane Helene Relief Effort is coming to an end. We had incredible donations from our school community. Thank you!
Cub Scout Flier and Hispanic Heritage Club information below. Thank you to our PTO for holding the Spooky Ghost Lollipop sale this week. It was a hit! We appreciate all of the volunteers from the PTO who were in our school putting smiles on our students' faces.
Our Employees of the Week are Mrs. Anello and Ms. Walsh!
Have a great weekend.
September attendance numbers show we are comparable to our 2023 numbers. Let's continue to work together to convey the message that we should be here every day, on time, and ready to learn. Attendance Works is an outstanding website that has information and research on the importance of high attendance rates and tips for parents, educators, and students in boosting attendance.
Our school based Attendance Committee would like to introduce a fun attendance initiative starting next week. We will be doing a football themed attendance competition among the grade levels based on weekly attendance rates. Weekly grade level winners will be acknowledged for their efforts. The grade level with the highest average daily attendance rate from November 4 to December 20 will receive extra recess! The overall class in that grade level with the highest daily average attendance will get an ice pop party and other awesome prizes.
Check in with our Instagram site and our newsletter for weekly winners!
Our Halloween Parade will be held on Wednesday, October 30, 2024 and will start promptly at 10:25 AM. This is sure to be a fun-filled event that everyone is looking forward to! Earlier in the week, a letter about the details of the event including costume expectations was send. Below, you can find this letter in English and Spanish. Let's work together to make this another fun parade!
Our hardworking Hispanic Heritage Club is holding a fundraiser! Please consider supporting them! Key chains, bracelets, and other items are on sale to help support the efforts of this club. Below, please see the fliers with information in both English and Spanish. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mrs. Marra or Mrs. Denardo.
Buy a Birthday Gram and Bucket of Fun Today!
'Birthday Grams' are on sale now and we be available for sale at Back to School Night (please bring cash to purchase). You can also purchase by viewing the flier below. Birthday Grams are a way to recognize your child's birthday. For only $5, your child will receive a birthday message from you and receive a special goodie bag filled with trinkets and a birthday message.
Buckets of Fun is also a great way to get involved and will be exciting for your child. This is a raffle where students can win fun and exciting prizes. Raffle prizes include: teacher assistant for a period, lunch with a teacher, extra art class, McDonald's Happy Meals, 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony VIP parking (5th grade only), front row seating for the 5th Grade Moving Up Ceremony (5th grade only), preferred seating for the fall and spring chorus concert, preferred seating for the band/orchestra concerts, and preferred seating for the school Drama Production. Tickets will be on sale at Back to School Night.
All proceeds will support our PBSIS Committee and our many Walnut Street positive behavioral and social/emotional initiatives!
- October 30 - Halloween Parade: 10:25 AM
- November 5 - Remote Learning Day
- November 7 and 8 - No School: NJEA Convention
- November 11 - Makeup Picture Day
- November 12 - PTO Meeting, Cafeteria C, 6:30 PM
- November 27 - Early Dismissal (School Day Ends at 12:40 PM)
- November 28 and 29 - School Closed, Thanksgiving Recess
- Parent/Teacher Conferences: December 3 - 5
As you know, district and school communication are vitally important. Here at Walnut Street Elementary School, we use various means of communication. ParentSquare is a communication app that we use to get information out quickly to our school community. It is a great idea to download the ParentSquare app to your Smartphone and make sure you use banners, sounds, badges, and push notifications so you know a message was sent. ParentSquare also sends an email to you when something is posted and can also translate into any language. Please download the app today!
Finally, the school has an active Instagram Account that we post the many happenings at Walnut Street. This account has over 360 followers. On this handle, we post amazing pictures and video of the goings on during the school year. Please follow us on Instagram: @wsewildcats
Congratulations to Ms. Anello who received a "Sensory Needs for Students With Autism" project for her classroom from Donors Choose. We would like to thank the following donors:
Rosemarie Anello
Anonymous (East Brunswick, NJ)
Melissa Dodson
Anonymous (New Jersey)
Please click here for our Media Center Donor's Choose Page
Our next PTO meeting is on November 12 in Cafeteria C starting at 6:30 PM. We will be giving you important information and we will be recognizing our Students of the Month! Follow our Instagram account: @walnutstreetelempto
Please volunteer for these upcoming events!:
School Store - November 2024, February and May 2025
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FABAE2AA6FD0-51112959-school
Holiday Craft Night and Secret Shopper Event 12/12
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FABAE2AA6FD0-51113606-holiday
Bingo Night 1/23
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FABAE2AA6FD0-51113557-bingo
Someone Special Dance 2/27
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FABAE2AA6FD0-51113595-2025
Outdoor Movie Night 5/16
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FABAE2AA6FD0-51113499-outdoor
Calling All Bakers
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0A4FABAE2AA6FD0-51116214-calling
